"Ville Lumière" a Paris Travel Page by MM212

Paris is Paris... The most spectacular metropolis in this world, one which numerous cities have tried to emulate in the past. Much has been written about this beautiful city, but here is an excerpt that describes how best to discover the City of Light:

"You drift in Venice, you meander in Rome, you wander in Madrid. In New York, you go from point A to point B. You often get lost in Tokyo. You always find your way in Marrakesh. In London, you can catch a taxi; in Seville a sunstroke. But only in Paris do you stroll. Sometimes this strolling lasts a lifetime. Paris is quite small for lovers. It's a city that you learn on foot. With the Seine as your guide, the Eiffel Tower and the Tower of Montparnasse, the Butte Montmartre and Bercy as cardinal points, you are not afraid of getting lost or being bored for very long. The landscape changes constantly. There are benches to stop for a while. Cafés to quench your thirst... One of the best lit, best maintained, most logical cities in the movement of its traffic, Paris, where all you have to do is let your eyes and the soles of your shoes guide you, is a reassuring city... One does not decide on the joy of living in Paris, one comes to grips with it while walking around."

-- François Baudot (art & literary critic; Elle Magazine editorial consultant) in the introduction to the illustrated book by Assouline Publishing, entitled: PARIS.

Our stroll around the City of Lights begins at the Eiffel Tower. From there to the Arc de Triomphe, through the Champs-Elysées and the Opera, with a few diversions eastwards to Place de la Bastille, before heading south and west through the Saint-Germain area. We end at l'Ecole Militaire, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower again, right where we started. Bonne promenade!